The league says it went to prosecutors to find out why Elliott was not charged with a crime. The NFL was told, "We never concluded that she was lying to us ... we generally believed her for all of the incidents."

Prosecutors had previously said there was "conflicting and inconsistent information across all incidents, resulting in concern regarding the sufficiency of the evidence to support the filing of criminal charges."

The standard for prosecution is much higher than the standard for the NFL to mete out discipline.

8/11/2017 9:12 AM PDT

Ezekiel Elliott has been suspended for 6 games following the NFL's yearlong domestic violence investigation into the Dallas Cowboys star, the league confirms.

The league says the investigation found "substantial and persuasive evidence" that Zeke engaged in physical violence against the accuser.

The league also told Elliott if he violates league policy ever again he could possibly be BANNED from the NFL for life.

Zeke was accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend 5 different times in 6 days back in July 2016.

Cops investigated the allegations but decided there wasn't enough evidence to prosecute.

The NFL conducted its own investigation and apparently felt there was enough evidence to suspend him.

The NFL issued a statement saying, "Over the course of the last year, the league conducted an extensive investigation. League investigators interviewed more than a dozen witnesses, including Ms. Tiffany Thompson, who had alleged multiple instances of physical violence in July 2016, and Mr. Elliott."

"The league also consulted with medical experts. League investigators examined all available evidence, including photographic and digital evidence, thousands of text messages and other records of electronic communications."

Elliott denied any wrongdoing -- but the accuser has maintained he attacked her. In fact, she put up a statement last month doubling down on the allegations against Zeke and saying people like her need to speak up and stop domestic violence.

Elliott's made headlines for all the wrong reasons this offseason -- he was caught exposing a woman's bare breast at a St. Patrick's Day parade and was accused of attacking a man in a Dallas bar in July.

Adam Schefter says the NFL factored in the St. Patrick's Day incident when meting out punishment.

Zeke wasn't arrested or charged with any crime for either incident ... but it's been reported the league would take these incidents into consideration when determining his punishment.

The news will undoubtedly come as a shock to Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, who just told us THIS WEEK that Zeke would NOT be suspended.

7/25/2017 1:16 PM PDT

Jason Garrett says the Cowboys are standing by their decision to cut Lucky Whitehead ... despite cops in Virginia admitting they incorrectly arrested the wrong guy for shoplifting in June.

Garrett addressed the Whitehead drama at training camp on Tuesday ... saying the team has no intention of bringing the kick return specialist back.

"In evaluating the particular situation, and the context of that situation, we felt like we made a decision in regards to Lucky that was right for our team. And we stand by that decision."

Garrett initially pulled a Marshawn Lynch and repeated the same answer to every Lucky-related question, saying "We made a decision that we thought was in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys. We stand by it and we're moving on."

Whitehead has addressed the situation ... hinting he's planning to take legal action against either the Cowboys or the Prince William County PD.

7/18/2017 1:17 PM PDT

The Dallas Cowboys owner didn't address the incident ... but made it clear the superstar RB needs to be more careful cause the cameras are always rollin'.

"Because of his style and personality, it’s like a rock star wherever he goes in terms of attention,” Jones told reporters.

"Certainly Zeke is evolving and being subject to needing to learn how to deal with the media and social media the way it is today. ... We want to continue (to) educate ourselves as to how behavior, how it can be portrayed."

Basically, ya gotta watch every step you take.

FYI, the Dallas PD's still investigating the incident ... but hasn't named any suspects.

TMZ Sports obtained two videos of the victim from witnesses who told us Zeke threw a punch -- injuring another bar patron.

7/17/2017 6:01 AM PDT

1:45 PM PT -- Dallas PD was filmed by multiple news cameras arriving at Clutch Bar this afternoon ... but cops were tight lipped about the exact reason for their visit, and where the case stands.

7:54 AM PT -- TMZ Sports has obtained video of the victim moments after he was struck in the face by an assailant at Clutch Bar in Dallas.

The person who shot the video tells us the man was involved in a verbal altercation with a woman who was in Ezekiel's party ... when Ezekiel got involved.

The witness says she saw Ezekiel punch the man -- corroborating the story the victim's friend told police. However, cops at the scene could not confirm Zeke was the attacker and he has not been arrested or charged with a crime.

In the video, you can see the victim writhing in pain on the ground. We're told he was on the ground for a few minutes.

An ambulance arrived to the scene, and you can see the man being treated by paramedics outside the bar. He was transported to a nearby hospital.

Elliott's people will only say the RB was not arrested and no complaint has been filed against him.

We spoke with the NFL -- and we're told the league is now looking into the matter to "understand the facts."

6:32 AM PT -- The Dallas PD now says it DOES have a record of an incident at Clutch Bar and it appears to be connected the Ezekiel Elliott investigation.

We spoke with SGT. Williams who tells us ... cops were called to Clutch around 9:30 PM for a "disturbance."

Cops at the bar spoke to a man who said his nose was just broken -- but the man appeared to be extremely intoxicated and couldn't remember who hit him.

We're told the victim was transported to a nearby hospital for his injuries.

Cops said they did NOT speak with Elliott at the scene. He was not at the club by the time they tried to look for him.

Cops said, based on the lack of information and the fact the accuser appeared to be intoxicated, no arrests were made.

A rep for Elliott would only say his client was not arrested and no formal criminal complaint has been filed against the RB.Ezekiel Elliott was involved in an incident Sunday night at Clutch Bar in Dallas, TMZ Sports has confirmed with a source directly involved in the situation.

The details about what went down inside the bar are still sketchy -- we're digging.

TMZ Sports spoke with multiple people at the Dallas Police Dept. -- but no one seems to have a record of an incident involving the Dallas Cowboys running back.

In fact, we were specifically told by a Sgt. that the only arrest in that area was for public intoxication, but it wasn't related to Zeke.

We're also told there were off-duty DPD police officers working at Clutch late Sunday night but none of those officers filed a report detailing a bar fight or mentioning an incident with Ezekiel.

There is buzz on social media that the incident is a fight and Elliott was the aggressor -- but at this point, no one we've spoken with can confirm that.

5/24/2017 9:48 AM PDT

Ezekiel Elliott was in a car accident early Monday morning ... and sustained a minor head injury after the vehicle he was riding in was rear-ended in the Dallas area ... TMZ Sports has learned.

After hitting up a charity event thrown by Tony Romo and Clutch bar Sunday night, sources tell us Zeke was the passenger in a car that was rear-ended by another vehicle ... 'causing the Cowboys star to hit his head.

We're told the car was "rear-ended pretty bad."

The Cowboys confirmed the accident ... and said Elliott -- who missed OTAs all week -- was being held from practice strictly as a precaution.

5/1/2017 9:18 AM PDT

EXCLUSIVE

NFL legend Drew Pearson stole the show during the 2017 NFL Draft with his minute-long pro-Cowboys rant ... and he's not done talkin' smack to the Philadelphia Eagles!!

TMZ Sports spoke with D.P. about his incredible intro for the Cowboys' 60th pick in the draft ... who says he didn't plan it to be so epic, but once the boo birds started chirping, he switched up his plan.